All posts here are from sections of the books: "North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose" and "Lifting the Veil; Becoming Your Own Best Astrologer" and "Astrology for the Third Act of Life" and finally "Saturn Returns~The Private Papers of A Reluctant Astrologer" All available in paperback, Kindle and Audible on Amazon.com

To inquire about readings or for more articles on the North/South Nodes, go to: https://www.NorthNodeAstrology.com

Friday, February 25, 2011

Being Your Own Life Coach: Using Your North Node and Mercury as a Map-Guide



Readers of this blog understand that the North Node, by sign and house, holds clues as to what your Soul has to say about life direction and soul purpose in this life. But how do we get there? How do we get from the past habits and default patterns into a future that is right for us? Mercury is the planet that spans the space between here and there—the planet of communication. It bridges the gap between the Nodes, between the old and the new, and it is expressed through your talking, writing, your work, and your pleasure—these are your styles of communicating with the world. Of course we all have multiple ways of communicating and following “the yellow brick road home”. Detours and adventures come along with the territory, and aren’t bad. But sometimes it helps to look at a map, and so I offer you the idea of pondering the astrological sign and house position of Mercury as well as the North Node in your chart.


The simplest way to do this is through a little writing, in the form of journaling, or even simple note taking. We know that when you don’t know what you are feeling, or why, or when you’re overcome by an emotion, journal writing can comfort, simplify, and help you gather yourself into a new clarity. This isn’t a new idea, but by combining the meanings of Mercury and the North Node in your chart, it creates a personal synchronicity that amplifies what either of them can do alone. It creates an alchemical shift in your psyche that takes you beyond what you think you know consciously. And it’s a delicious surprise to find yourself in new territory.

What does this look like? It’s like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. We look for the “what” or the “where” of the destination point in the North Node, and the “how” in the Mercury placement. It’s about finding a means to an end, a goal. So we take notes, connect the dots, and journal about it. Here’s an example:

Let’s say you have Mercury in Scorpio in the 7th house. And you have your “destination point in the North Node” in Taurus in the 2nd house. The goal then is to explore what that Taurus North Node wants to be and do, and how you might get there through Mercury in Scorpio. You would start by noting all the multiple meanings of Taurus/2nd house. Well, if we make a list of Taurus qualities, we find a strong Venus ruling here, and a call to question, examine and strengthen our personal resources and values. Venus, Taurus, and the 2nd house all relate to issues around relationships, money, and beauty. Venus wants to know what she likes and what she doesn’t, what she believes in, and she wants to express it in a pleasing way with others. She wants to create something beautiful; whether it be an object, a child, a marriage, or a painting.

“How” will this particularly placement of the Venus-ruled North Node find its way with Mercury in Scorpio in the 7th? How can this be communicated or explored? You might choose to look at the qualities of Pluto ruled Scorpio, and then the meaning of the 7th house. Scorpio wants to find the emotional bottom line, it likes to delve into mysteries, wants to know what the other side thinks, and wants to recreate itself like the phoenix. You could list all the attributes of Scorpio—everything you know about the sign. And then look at its house placement: the 7th house in this chart. So this Scorpio will be expressed in one-on-one relationships with others, and by moving out into the world, as the 7th house does. Committed relationships, and an “outward more extroverted than introverted” expression, are a part of it—make a list of everything you know about the house placement. You will end up with four columns here if you’re making a list: the signs and houses of both your North Node and Mercury.


For example, in this person’s journal writing or self-coaching, they might want to brainstorm how to communicate their ideals of beauty and fairness and relationship in a grounded real way: (Venus/Taurus). And they might get there by allowing themselves to communicate (Mercury) beyond the level of persona and social interaction--they might use the Scorpio qualities of intenseness and intimacy. And they would be looking for a means to express transformation and rebirth. In their journaling, they might write about how transformation occurs without destroying the Taurus-Venus goal.

They might write about how to negotiate (7th house) the peace, beauty, and values that make life worth living. In their journaling they might find that they are pulled to create something of beauty (ie “I really want to bring beauty into this room by painting it-today!”) and they might find that a long session of writing leads them much deeper into the reason(s) they want to do one particular thing: to have a baby now, or how a partnership could be healed. Scorpio is tenacious, it doesn’t give up.


Give it a try with your signs and houses. See where it takes you, and in the next post, I’m going to take this example further, as well as writing more about the process of writing itself and how it can get you from here to there—

Does this work for you? Any insights? Leave a comment and let the rest of us know…

© elizabeth spring www.elizabethspring.com

13 comments:

  1. Very neat post. I love the North Node, and this is a neat combination of North Node and Mercury that I never would have thought of. I made a list of the different attributes of each in house and sign placement, then sort of made a "tree": put sign and house placement together and wrote how they mix, then made the "trunk" by putting those together and wrote about how it all comes together. It gave me a helpful idea for working with my North node in Pisces in the 8th and Mercury in Aquarius in the 7th. Thanks!

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  2. So interesting you say Mercury holds the key as my Mercury is in the bends to my nodes and I have been told that it is the planet which offers the path to resolution of those squares.
    Nevertheless, I continue to be stymied by my North Node in the 4th in Capricorn (being bass ackwards as it is) and what particular significance its conjunction to Mars may make.
    Guess I should get busy journalling!
    Thanks for these ideas. I look forward to your followup post.

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  3. I like this practical application of the life coach. Blaine Bolton.

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  4. I like this article very much!!!!!

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  5. I like this article very much. Blaine Bolton

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  6. Hi Blaine~thanks for your comment and nice to hear from you again. Hope you are well!

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  7. Fantastic as always, Elizabeth. I'm a fan and a fellow astrologer. I love the way you weave the elements together. Thank you for the contribution to our field and our world. Best wishes!

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  8. Thank you Elizabeth for these incredible insights. I am entering a life defining time, as a Piscean with North node in Sagittarius- (and am amazed to note that the North Node is now about to enter Sagittarius), just as I am meant tobe looking for a new career- finding a new home-just about reconstructing every area of my life..Interesting comments about looking at Mercury combined with the North Node..

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  9. Interesting, I did not realise that your Mercury placement was considered the way to engage or "get there" with regards to the N.Node.
    My north node is Scorpio in the 12th house and my Sth Node Taurus in the 6th, can be confusing as my Sun, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus placements are all in Taurus and I have some 6th house personal placements too. So what do you think when a persons chart has a heavy leaning to Sth Nodal influences. Does that mean it is harder to break the Sth Node habit or is it a hidden benefit, your thoughts on this would be interesting.

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  10. I have North Node/Cancer/4th house@15* and Mercury/Libra/7th house@8*. I made a table with keywords as described, but I am not sure how to interpret it. I would appreciate insight on this. Thank you.

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  11. @Susan & Laura~ I think there are a number of ways to "get to" the North Node, but surely one way is our communication style, which is reflected in Mercury's qualities.For both of you, Mercury is ruled by Venus (Taurus & Libra) so the goal is to bring in your North Node qualities by using the best of Venusian qualities....playing fair, bringing beauty into your life, holding the tension of the opposites in order to create harmony. For Laura she's wanting to bring in the 4th house grounding emotional nesting qualities more...as in home and long lasting relationships, and Susan may need to not only reach for the unconscious motivations but do it in creative short term (5th house) experiences. Of course, the book, North Node Astrology, on Amazon.com explains the Nodal journey better than I can do here...hope that helps a bit.

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  12. Thank you Elizabeth. That helps quite a bit. I just received my tax check today; so will be ordering your book soon. Thank you for all you do and your teachings.

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